Why 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty' Doesn't Hold At The Office

Anchorman Rob Morrison recently resigned from his job with
CBS after his
arrest for allegedly choking his wife.

But was
Morrison legally required to quit? What does the law say about
the security of your job once you've been arrested?

Lori
Adelson, a labor and
employment attorney and partner with law
firm Arnstein
& Lehr, tells us that when
an employee gets arrested, the employer has
to balance the rights of the
worker with the impact the arrest has on the office and other
employees.

If the situation might potentially create a safety issue, it's
the "employer's obligation" to deal with it. In Morrison's case, it was
a "wise idea" that he resigned, Adelson says, because even though
CBS isn't legally bound to fire him, there's a good chance they
would have terminated him.

It all comes
down to whether the company is able to continue "functioning
and operating as a business" after the
arrest. With all the media
attention that Morrison's case is getting and his wife, Ashley,
working in the same building, CBS would have a legitimate reason
to believe that the arrest would be disruptive.

To prevent a messy situation, companies should have policies in
place to cover this type of thing in case
it does occur. Employers can also choose to place the arrested
employee on pending status, which means they would be able to
come back to work upon acquittal. On the other hand, if there is
a clear and justifiable
reason to terminate the employee permanently, that policy should
also be clearly in place.

In short,
the "innocent until proven
guilty" right isn't always applicable in the
workplace.